A buffalo is stranded on a rooftop of a house for six days during severe flooding in Dak Lak Province
The animal was discovered when Phan Thi Diep, a resident of Hoa Thinh Commune, returned home after six days of evacuation. Her house had been submerged by rapidly rising floodwaters.
“When I came back a few days ago, I was shocked to see the buffalo standing on my roof,” she said. She brought dry straw and water to keep the animal alive, then posted online to help find its owner.
On the morning of November 25, a local military rescue team and the buffalo’s owner, Nguyen Xuan Hoi, 48, arrived at Diep’s home to carry out the rescue. The narrow path leading to the house made it impossible for a crane to access the site, so rescuers stacked bundles of straw to create a ramp for the buffalo to climb down.
Nguyen Xuan Hoi arrive to rescue his buffalo
After nearly 20 minutes of effort, the animal was brought safely to the ground. It was exhausted and had several bleeding wounds on its legs.
Hoi was overcome with emotion when he saw the buffalo alive. “When I heard it had survived, I burst into tears. This buffalo is the livelihood of my whole family. All my cattle were swept away in the floods. There is nothing left,” he said, expressing deep gratitude to the rescue team.
Many areas in Dak Lak Province are deeply submerged during the floods
Dak Lak has been the hardest-hit province in the recent catastrophic floods. According to the latest reports, 63 people have died and eight remain missing. More than 150,000 homes were inundated, over 120 houses collapsed or were destroyed and transport, healthcare, education and irrigation infrastructure suffered widespread damage. An estimated 3.2 million livestock and poultry died in the disaster.
